Light in the Darkness (天翔)
by Aki-Kuma
Summary: Giou Haruto was a weapon, a tool. But he didn't mind, because that was the only thing Haruto could do to repay Danzo-sama for saving both him and his younger brother from the streets of the Bloody Mist. Or at least, that was what what Haruto had thought, until he met Uchiha Toshio - the boy who changed how Haruto thought. A Root OC fanfic!
1. Chapter 1: In the Shadows

**Chapter One: In the Shadows**

Note: I was inspired to write this fanfic by reading fanfics that described the ROOT under Danzo's control. I felt like ROOT and its members were never given much attention, and the Naruto storyline never really explained much about what the training was like and such.

My other fanfic, The True Shinobi is going at a really slow pace because I'm sort of stuck right now, so I'm writing this fanfic instead. The beginning parts are always easy to write, but the middle and end gets much harder.

 **Warnings:** AU. Slight or quite OOC (haven't quite decided yet XP).

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Giou Haruto was a weapon. A tool for his master to use and then discard when no longer needed.

But Haruto didn't mind.

Haruto had already sworn to give his life for Danzo-sama since that day, when Danzo-sama took him and his younger brother in, from the streets of the Bloody Mist, half-starved to death.

His life, his existence, and his power, that no one had wanted, that everyone had hated, Danzo-sama had wanted, had said it was useful.

Giou Haruto didn't know who his father was. He only knew that his father had been a Konoha shinobi who died near the end of the Third Great Shinobi war, leaving his mother alone, with a barely one year old Haruto and an unborn Yuuto in her stomach to take care of. And even that mother, a kind and beautiful women of unique silver hair and pink eyes, was now nothing but a vague memory for Haruto, as his mother had died a few months after giving birth to Yuuto.

His mother's younger sister - Haruto's aunt, along with her husband, had then taken in the two years old Haruto and his few months old younger brother, Yuuto. Giou Haruto and Giou Yuuto lived happily and peacefully together with their aunt and uncle, near the border of Kiragakure. Despite not being their real biological children, Haruto and Yuuto's aunt and uncle treated them as if they were their own children. Although their uncle was no one but a simple woodcutter in a small village of the Land of Water, Haruto felt no complaints about his life.

When Haruto was two and a half years old, he found out that he could manipulate the water without any hand seal.

"Obaa-san! Obaa-san! Just now when I was outside by the river, I made the water move without using any hand seals! Isn't it amazi – " Haruto's excited voice was cut off by the sound of a plate shattering on the ground, as his obaa-san turned deathly pale.

"Haruto!" Obaa-san demanded, as she grabbed young Haruto's shoulders harshly and shook him, "did anyone see you doing that!?"

"No…no one saw me. I was alone by the river." Haruto reassured his obaa-san confusedly, "I'm sorry, obaa-san. Did I do something wrong?"

Some colour began returning to obaa-san's face as she hugged Haruto tightly. "No, you did nothing wrong, Haruto. Obaa-san is the one who should be sorry. But Haruto, you must _never_ use that power again. What you did just now, when you controlled the water, is called a kekkei genkai. You must have inherited it from your father, but promise me, _never use that power again_. That power will bring nothing but misfortune." Obaa-san said seriously. Haruto was different from other children; he matured _way faster_ compared to others, that by the time Haruto was two years old, he could already read, speak, and write fluently, so obaa-san knew that Haruto would be able to understand.

"Okay…" Haruto answered. If his obaa-san didn't want him to use that power again, then Haruto wouldn't. Obaa-san was very nice, and took care of him and Yuuto after his mother had died, so Haruto didn't want to cause trouble for her. He didn't know why having a kekkei genkai was bad, but Haruto would follow what his obaa-san said.

After that incident, Haruto never used or brought up his kekkei genkai again. He spent his days helping out his obaa-san at home and taking care of his younger brother. Despite being very young himself, Haruto was already capable of cooking meals and looking after Yuuto, which lifted the burden off their aunt and uncle.

But when Haruto turned four years old and Yuuto two years old, something happened that drastically changed their lives – Yuuto awakened his kekkei genkai.

The situation had almost been the exact same as to how Haruto awakened the hyoton. Yuuto was simply playing by the river, when he realized that he could make the water move. Luckily, their aunt had been passing by and immediately stopped Yuuto and led him back to their house, but unknown to them, someone had seen Yuuto's display.

That very same night, Haruto's uncle and the rest of the villages gathered in their house and killed obaa-san in front of Haruto's own eyes. Haruto could only stare blankly, as his aunt bled out on the floor and breathed her last breath, with Yuuto next to him, frozen in fear. The next thing Haruto was aware of was his uncle and the villagers heading towards him and Yuuto, with axes, knives, and pitchforks in their hands. Haruto pulled Yuuto tightly into his arms and looked towards the crowd, not knowing what to do; he only knew that as an older brother, he needed to protect Yuuto _no matter what_.

As if rising in accordance with Haruto's wish, ice and wood spikes grew out from the ground and impaled everyone, except for Haruto and Yuuto. The two of them stood frightened, as they stared at the bloody carnage around them.

After that day, Haruto and Yuuto lived out on the streets, shivering in the cold and surviving off the leftover food that other people threw out.

Yuuto huddled close to his older brother, with his knees hugged close to his chest. "Nii-san, I'm sorry. Because of me, uncle…" Yuuto trailed off, eyes closed in pain as he remembered that day.

"Yuuto, it's not your fault." Haruto patted Yuuto softly on the head and hugged him tightly. "I'm also at fault for not telling you earlier that you could possibly awaken a kekkei genkai. _Don't worry, no matter what happens, nii-san will protect you_."

A month after that disastrous day, Danzo found Haruto and Yuuto collapsed in a small deserted alley in the Land of Water, and stretched out a hand towards them.

The power that had caused the death of their aunt and uncle, Danzo-sama said he wanted; for that, Haruto would forever be grateful for.

" _You and your younger brother are kekkei genkai users; in this shinobi world, that power is unwanted by everyone except for me. Devote your life to following my orders, and I'll look after your younger brother. As long as you work hard and obey me, then nothing will happen to Giou Yuuto, that I promise. From now on, you are a member of Root, Giou Haruto."_

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What do you think about it? ~~ give me you reviews! thanks!


	2. Chapter 2: Sign of Hope

**Chapter Two: Sign of Hope**

Note: Danzo is an easy yet hard character to write. He seems like the type who is very cold and harsh, but also at the same time very manipulating. And well, in order to manipulate someone, you have to let them trust you or believe you, right? Which means at the same time, they are deceptive and say what people want to hear. That part, the manipulation part is sort of hard to write, but I hope you like how I started and continue to portray Danzo.

By the way, just to make things clear, in this chapter, Haruto is four, while Yuuto is two years old. Yuuto is also the same age as the Rookie 9 (Naruto and the others). Which means currently, It's been two years, soon to be three years after the kyuubi attack.

 **Warnings** : AU. OOC.

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From that very day, Haruto had vowed that he would work to fulfill Danzo-sama's dream, no matter what he had to endure. He would do whatever he would have to do, all in order to protect his younger brother – Yuuto, and to pay back Danzo-sama for taking them in. No matter how much pain he would be in, no matter how much blood he would have to shed, Haruto would forever serve Danzo-sama faithfully.

At least, that was what Haruto had thought, until he met Uchiha Toshio.

Haruto had thought that Danzo-sama was the exception in this bloody and harsh world, that Danzo-sama was the only one, who didn't mind that he and Yuuto were _kekkei genkai_ users. After all, Haruto could still remember clearly that very day, when he and his younger brother's life became hell.

But Haruto was wrong.

Danzo-sama wasn't the only one.

Uchiha Toshio, Haruto's roommate in the ROOT headquarters, knew that Haruto was a kekkei genkai user yet wanted to become friends with him. Haruto had already long learnt from Danzo-sama that he had not one, but actually _two_ kekkei genkais – the _hyoton_ and _mokuton_. But even so, Toshio approached him, smiled at him, and held out his hand for him. Haruto felt nothing but thankfulness for having Toshio with him as a Root trainee.

Though Root training was extremely harsh, and Haruto found himself collapsing on the ground exhausted way too often, the fact that Toshio was with him made everything better. Toshio would cheer him up, tell him stories about the Uchiha and his family, and laugh and make jokes. Through Toshio, Haruto learned to not hate his kekkei genkais, but rather to embrace and use it to help him survive in Root, like how Toshio did with the sharingan he awakened as someone from the Uchiha clan. The only time Haruto could feel himself relax and get away from the hellish Root training and Danzo's intimidating, piercing stares, was when he was with Toshio or the few times he was able to visit Yuuto.

The fact that Danzo had deemed Yuuto too young to begin his training was nothing but a saving grace for Haruto, though Haruto could do nothing about the cursed seal that was placed on both of their tongues, preventing them from telling any Root information to outsiders. Haruto was glad that Yuuto had gotten over what had happened to their aunt and uncle, and was now happy and innocent like usual.

Haruto and Toshio were both at the top of the Root trainees' in skill, and it had long become routine for Haruto and Toshio to treat each other's wounds after hard torture resistance or taijutsu training sessions. Even though Haruto had no prior ninja training, his innate potential and talent towards the shinobi arts was greater than anyone.

By the time Haruto was four and a half years old, only _five months_ after he had begun his shinobi training, Haruto's skill was already good enough for him to take the Root graduation exam.

Haruto had already perfected his kunai and shuriken throwing – he could throw multiple kunais or shuriken simultaneously, and they always hit the bullseye. He was even capable of using a kunai to direct or change the trajectory path of another kunai, while ensuring that both hit dead centre of the targets. Haruto had precise chakra control and had long completed the tree walking and water walking techniques, not to mention being fluent in his taijutsu style; a speed-flexibility-based style that targeted the body's weak spots and vulnerable areas.

Danzo found himself feeling impressed and a bit of admiration, as he watched Haruto perform the three basic academy jutsus – henge, kawarimi, and the bunshin, fluently and without any hand-seals. _Haruto was definitely a genius within a genius. There were no problems with his skill, he was capable of passing the graduation exam and becoming a Root ANBU operative,_ Danzo thought.

 **XXXXXX**

During the last week, Danzo had been watching Haruto like a hawk looked at its prey, and Haruto found it extremely uncomfortable. If anything, it was definitely not a good sensation and it filled Haruto with dread of what was going to happen. Haruto could do nothing but hope that his feeling was wrong, as tried his best to ignore the cold and calculating eyes that bored into him as he continued going through his taijutsu katas fluidly.

On the seventh day after being observed by Danzo, Haruto found himself kneeling on the ground with Toshio beside him, feeling a combination of worry and nervous anticipation as he bowed his head towards Danzo.

"After much contemplation and having seen the two of you undergo Root training, I have decided that you two are ready to take the graduation exam and be inducted into my Root ANBU." Danzo addressed the two kneeling figures in front of him. "Stand up and face each other, I want to see you two spar. "

A sinking feeling settled in Haruto's heart, as he got up and obeyed what Danzo-sama said, feeling Toshio doing the same.

Haruto stood facing Toshio, each with a kunai in their hands, as they listened to what Danzo had to say, both feeling extremely foreboding about what was going to come.

"Here, the two of you are to fight each other with your lives on the line. This is the final test and your destiny as a Root member." Danzo continued, making Haruto and Toshio stiffen minutely. "If after three hours, the two of you are both alive, then…Well, I don't think I have to explain what will happen, but both of you will be killed."

Haruto and Toshio stared blankly at each other, betraying no emotions on their face, as Danzo walked towards the door and exited the room.

"I…I can't." Haruto stuttered out, with tears forming in his eyes. "It's impossible for me to kill you, Toshio. I don't _want_ to kill you!"

Toshio stepped forward and looked dead into Haruto's eyes. "Haruto, kill me. You have to do it."

"No…" Haruto shook his head frantically as he stepped backwards slightly. "I won't, I can't –" Haruto's voice broke off, as Toshio dashed forward and impaled himself _onto_ Haruto's kunai. Haruto stared down, his eyes seeing but his mind not registering at what had happened. All he could see was blood. "To…Toshio…what…are you…" Haruto blinked blankly at the sight of his _own_ kunai, held in his _own_ hand, piercing right _into_ Toshio's body. _What is this!?_

Haruto let go of the kunai he was holding in shock and Toshio collapsed onto the ground, the kunai in his chest and breathing heavily.

"Toshio!" Haruto dropped to his knees in panic and leaned over Toshio. "Are you okay!? Please be okay! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to – " Tears silently fell down Haruto's face as he watched the irregular rise and fall of Toshio's body. Haruto brought his hands up and prepared himself to use a healing jutsu, when Toshio's hand reached up to grab his wrist.

"No," Toshio gasped, "you can't, they'll k-kill you."

Haruto tried to shake off Toshio's hand, but it was surprisingly strong for someone who was bleeding out from the chest and coughing out blood. "It doesn't matter." Haruto weakly said, shaking his head. I don't want you to die, Toshio."

Toshio softly chuckled, "don't be an idiot. If you die, who's going to look after your younger brother? Besides, it's already too late for me."

Haruto knew that Toshio spoke the truth, but he didn't want to believe it. His fingers clutched tightly onto Toshio's clothes, as his shoulders shook with suppressed sobs. "Toshio…"

"Haruto, make sure you destroy my eyes, the sharingan is a power that should never fall in Danzo's hands." Toshio slowly raised his hand and patted Haruto's hair, comfortingly. "Also, promise me one last thing – _Konoha, this village and the Uchiha, protect them for me._ "

"I understand. I'll do it for sure, Toshio."" Haruto nodded his head, as he saw Toshio's breathing slowly down to a stop and the hand in his hair fell down limply to the floor.

Silence reigned in the room.

"Rest in peace, Uchiha Toshio."

Haruto eventually dragged himself into a standing position and schooled his features into an emotionless expression when Danzo entered the room.

"Good work on passing the exam, Giou Haruto. I thought you would be able to do it." Danzo remarked. "From now on, your code name is Yuurei, and you will be assigned to the Infiltration and Assassination division of Root ANBU. _In Root, you have no name. You have no feelings. You have no past. You have no future. There is only the mission. We exist simply to support this great tree called Konoha, from within the shadows._ Is that understood?"

"Hai, Danzo-sama." Haruto bowed his head robotically, feeling numb on the inside. He didn't feel proud at all; Toshio was dead, yet he was alive. There was nothing good about passing the Root graduation exam.

"What happened to Uchiha Toshio's sharingan?"

Haruto's heart stuttered and he forced himself to not betray any change in his body or his face. "I apologize, Danzo-sama. Uchiha Toshio destroyed his eyes before I had a chance to take them." Haruto answered as stoically as possible.

"Very well, if that's the case, it can't be helped."

Haruto stayed silent while inwardly feeling relieved that Danzo didn't notice his lie.

"Your dismissed, Yuurei."

Haruto acknowledged Danzo's order and exited the room, with nothing but his promise engraved in his mind.

 _I promise you, Toshio, I will definitely protect Konoha and the Uchiha in your stead_.

 **XXXXXX**

The days after Toshio's death passed in a blur of predictable monotony. Haruto threw everything he had into completing the Root missions perfectly, so that he could rise through the ranks of Root. It was all for honouring the promise he had made to Toshio, because in order for Haruto to be able to protect the Uchiha, he needed to become strong.

Strong and deemed loyal enough that Danzo would trust him.

It was only once Haruto had gained Danzo's trust that Haruto could give slight suggestions to Danzo to keep him away from the Uchiha, which was near impossible to do, considering how obsessed Danzo was with the Uchihas. It was only when Haruto was at the top ranks of Root, that Haruto would be able to gain information about the Root missions and learn what plans Danzo had.

After all, Haruto had nothing left, but his younger brother and a vow made with the dead.

It had been a month since Haruto became a full-fledged Root ANBU operative, and it was now March. The seasons had changed and it was now spring, not that it made much difference to Haruto because the only times he left Root headquarters was for missions, and he never really spent the time to look at anything but the things related to his mission.

On the way back on his fifth mission since becoming Root ANBU, Haruto decided to make a little detour before reporting back to Danzo, as he was a bit curious to see what Konoha was like since Haruto hadn't had the chance to do so, so far. Haruto jumped over the roofs in Konoha and stopped on the edge of one of the tall buildings in Konoha and fixed his gaze below. Children running around with big smiles on their faces, parents holding the hands of their children looking, shinobi and civilians strolling and communicating with each other, without a single ounce of fear. "This…this is Konoha." Haruto murmured softly. He was shocked; it was a completely different sight compared to Kirigakure. Everyone, the adults, the children, they all looked so happy and pure, so content.

 _It was so peaceful._

Haruto made his way back to the Root headquarters, deep in thought about the scene he had just seen. Konoha was too different compared to Kirigakure, where killings, blood, and chaos were viewed as normality, and everyone knew not to trust others as they would only end up being betrayed and stabbed in the back. Haruto didn't know how to describe the feeling that welled up in him, when he saw that sight of Konoha.

"Danzo-sama, Operative Yuurei has returned from mission 250-A." Haruto reported, as he knelled in front of Danzo with his head bowed. "The mission was completed successfully without any complications."

"I see. Good work, Yuurei." Danzo nodded approvingly, and Haruto lowered his head in submission. While the missions were not overly difficult, Haruto was not fond of shedding blood. Rather, he disliked the fact that so far, all the missions he had been sent on were assassination missions. It was nothing surprising considering how Haruto was part of the Infiltration and Assassination division of Root. But he couldn't help but think, just how many people he would have to kill, how many times he would have to spill blood, before Danzo saw him as an indispensable member of Root.

"As a reward for completing all your missions this month successfully, you have permission to visit your younger brother." Danzo continued.

"Hai, Danzo-sama. Arigatou gozaimasu." A small smile lit up on Haruto's face that was covered by a blank ANBU mask, and Haruto bowed in acknowledgment before leaving the room.

Haruto walked down the hallway of the Root headquarters, mind reflecting back to the view of Konoha he had observed from the roof of a building. To be honest, Haruto had fallen in love with the peaceful atmosphere Konoha had, and he thought that might be why Toshio was so adamant about protecting this village. _Konoha, that peace, I also want to…_

"Nii-san!"

An ecstatic voice along with a pitter patter of feet broke Haruto out of his thoughts, and he instinctively caught the small figure that jumped to hug him tightly. Haruto blinked in bewilderment to see silver hair and lilac eyes identical as his own, looking up at him, and Haruto realized that he had been so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice his feet had led him automatically to where Yuuto was. Yuuto snuggled into Haruto's chest and Haruto smiled softly, seeing Yuuto's bright, innocent, lilac-eyes and lightly patted Yuuto on the head before putting him down on the ground.

"I'm sorry, nii-san hasn't been able to visit you much. It's been quite a while, hasn't it, Yuuto?" Haruto asked. "What do you wish to do today?"

"Yeah, I really missed you, nii-san!" Yuuto answered while giving a small pout. "Will you listen to me read?"

Yuuto held out a small book titled 'Konoha and her Relations', which made Haruto a bit surprised since that book was a bit hard-level for a two year old to understand. But he knew that Yuuto was quite mature and smart for his age, so Haruto didn't think much about it.

"Of course, Yuuto." Haruto replied, gently caressing Yuuto's hair.

"Konohagakure is the hidden village of the Land of Fire. As the village of one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries, Konohagakure has a Kage as its leader known as the Hokage. Konoha resides deep within a forest at the base of a mountain known as the Hokage Rock..." As Haruto listened to Yuuto read out loud, a fierce emotion surged through him, catching him momentarily off guard. It was _protectiveness_ , Haruto perceived. He wanted Yuuto to remain as he was now – innocent, happy, and kind, just like the other children of Konoha. This is what I want to protect, Haruto realized. Konoha's 'King', the most precious piece on the shogi board – the children.

' _For the sake of Peace. To protect Konoha and the King, and to fulfill my promise to Toshio. That is why I will continue to be a shinobi.'_ Haruto thought.

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What do you guys think?


	3. Chapter 3: Life as Root Operative (1)

**Chapter Three: Life as Root Operative (1)**

Note: Just warning you guys ahead, but there's a quite important character death in this story – sorry! But just because someone is "dead" doesn't mean he stays dead. (Regarding what I mean, you will have to read my story XP .) And just to let you guys know, Orochimaru has already defected Konoha by this point, but I'm not going to spend my time writing about his defection. Kakashi and Tenzo will appear in this chapter! ~~

 **Warnings** : AU. OOC.

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Ever since Haruto had found his reason and conviction to being a shinobi, he had approached his daily trainings and missions with a new vigour. Haruto pushed himself harder and harder, faster and faster, and often didn't stop until he collapsed on the ground of one of the Root training rooms in exhaustion.

 _It's not enough_ , Haruto realises. He needs to work harder, do better, in order to fulfill his obligation, his duty.

Sending chakra to his legs again, Haruto jumps up and flips upside down, brandishing four kunais in both of his hands and throws them. Immediately, he takes out two more kunais in each of his hands, while still in the air and flings them. Flipping over to land in a crouch on the ground, Haruto automatically sends chakra through his legs to cushion his landing. Standing up, Haruto takes a look at the targets. The later thrown four kunais both re-directed one kunai each, and all twelve kunai thrown have hit the centre. Readjusting his footing, Haruto prepares himself to repeat what he just did, when he hears a voice to his left.

"You are quite skilled for someone your age." A boy who looked a couple of years older than Haruto and had distinctively similar looks to the Jonin Commander – Nara Shikaku, says. "Sorry for interrupting your training, I'm Hinou."

Haruto stares at the older boy awkwardly and replies, "Yuurei." He doesn't really know what to say, as Haruto had never interacted with anyone other than Yuuto and Toshio.

"Ah, so you're Yuurei. It's nice to meet you." Hinou smiles kindly at Haruto and for a moment, Haruto feels as if the one standing in front of him is Toshio. "My real name is Nara Shunsuke, so you can call me Shunsuke, if you want to."

Haruto stiffens and his breath catches in his throat. What Hinou, or Shunsuke, had just said was forbidden. Root members had no past; that was the rule. Stating their true name meant that they were admitting the fact that they had a past, and that could result to them being severely punished, or at worst case, killed.

"I apologize." Shunsuke's eyes soften as he looks at the younger silver-haired boy, who had lilac eyes and a feminine face. "You don't have to answer if you don't – "

"I don't mind," Haruto cuts in. "Giou Haruto, that's my real name."

"Haruto, that's a good name," Shunsuke comments. "You are exactly how Toshio described you to be."

Haruto's eyes widen in surprise and his heart races, "you know Toshio?"

"Yes, I was often paired up with Toshio during Root training sessions." Shunsuke answers gently, making Haruto avert his eyes; he had been the one to take away Toshio's life.

"You are interested in Ninshu?"

"Eh?" Haruto looks up, startled at Shunsuke's question.

"That book." Shunsuke points to the side of the training room, where Haruto had left the novel that he was in the middle of reading – Rikudou Sennin: Creator of Ninshu. "What do you think about it? I found it quite admirable of the Sage of Six Paths to spread ninshu around the world, which made people's lives much easier."

"Me too," Haruto's eyes light up and he nods agreeing with Shunsuke. "It's amazing how the world was peaceful and there were no wars, during the time of the Rikudou Sennin."

Haruto felt surprised; it was the first time that he had been able to talk and feel so relaxed with someone other than Yuuto and Toshio.

Ever since Haruto had met Shunsuke in early April, the two of them spent an immeasurable amount of time together, despite the age gap of five years between them; training, learning or teaching each other new tricks or skills they had learnt, talking about books they had recently read. Haruto loved this time the most. It was only when he was with Shunsuke, that Haruto could feel what it was like to have a friend again. Shunsuke, like Toshio, didn't mind that Haruto had two kekkei genkais and he was someone Haruto could confide in, someone he could trust.

Both Haruto and Shunsuke constantly pushed each other past their limits when they were training together to become stronger, as the two of them shared the same desires – to protect Konoha and the King, and their families. Shunsuke had told Haruto that he entered Root in order to protect his family, as Danzo had wanted his younger cousin – Nara Shikamaru, the son of the Jonin Commander, Nara Shikaku, in his Root ANBU. Shunsuke had volunteered himself in place of Shikamaru, because he didn't want Shikamaru's innocence to be destroyed by the darkness of ANBU.

It was exactly like how Haruto accepted Danzo's proposal to join Root, so that Yuuto would no longer have to live out on the streets of Kirigakure.

Alongside with Shunsuke, Haruto had also made another friend – Sarutobi Kaito.

Shunsuke had introduced Kaito to Haruto, and even though Kaito had a rough and rude attitude, he treated Haruto like his own younger brother. Haruto couldn't help but be reminded of his life with his aunt and Toshio. To the rest of Konoha, Kaito, who was also the son of the Sandaime Hokage, was someone who had been declared KIA. But in actuality, Kaito had been forcefully taken during one of his mission, and the cursed seal had been placed on him, causing Kaito unable to disobey Danzo's orders.

Though unlike Haruto, Kaito hated the Sandaime with a fury passion and felt no obligations to protect Konoha, as to Kaito, Konoha was a village that was rotten to the core and no one in the village cared about how children after children were disappearing.

Nevertheless, Kaito was a good friend, who didn't care that Haruto could use the hyoton and mokuton. Haruto knew that, so he had no complaints about Kaito.

 **XXXXXX**

The months passed quickly after Haruto had met Shunsuke and Kaito, and soon it was early September.

Haruto and Yuuto had turned five and three years old, respectively, on August 14th. Though Haruto was out on a mission on the day of their birthday, he had made sure to give Yuuto a snowflake-shaped necklace, made out of his hyoton chakra. Since the necklace was made out of Haruto's chakra, it was unbreakable unless Haruto was dead and no longer in the world. Not to mention, the necklace also served as a 'marker' for Haruto to keep track of Yuuto's chakra with his ability as a natural chakra sensor.

Haruto's skill in the hyoton and the mokuton had drastically increased, even though Danzo had ordered him to keep his ability to use mokuton a secret in Root. Now that Toshio was dead, Yuuto, Shunsuke, and Kaito were probably the only ones other than Danzo and himself, who knew that Haruto could also use the mokuton in addition to the hyoton.

There was one person in Root, aside from Haruto, that could use the mokuton, and that was Kinoe – a survivor of one of Orochimaru's experiments. But unlike with Haruto, Kinoe and his ability were common knowledge in Root.

Haruto had risen through the ranks of Root extremely fast, and now, he was one of Root's top assassins. There was no other Root operative who could match Haruto's overwhelming speed and unreal stealth, or his uncanny ability to disappear and appear wherever he wanted. Yuurei, Haruto's codename in Root, meaning ghost, suited him perfectly well.

In one of the training rooms in the Root headquarters, Haruto forms a few one-handed seals with his left hand and watches as ice senbon form in the air. He stamps on the ground with his foot, causing the ice senbons to fly towards the targets engraved around the room. Haruto is about to form the seals of another hyoton jutsu, when he senses a presence behind him. Haruto stops and turns to see a Root operative with the usual blank mask covering their face.

"Operative Yuurei. Danzo-sama has requested your presence in his office." The Root operative says with a monotone, blank voice.

"Understood. I will go immediately." Haruto answers, and the Root member disappears in a blur of shunshin.

Haruto quickly forms the ram seal with his left hand and releases a burst of chakra, as the ice in the room melts into water, before evaporating into the air. He heads out of the door and makes his way towards Danzo's office. Haruto steps into Danzo's office after receiving permission to enter and kneels a few steps away, in front of Danzo with his head bowed down. "You called for me, Danzo-sama?"

"Operative Yuurei, it's been about half a year since you were inducted into my Root ANBU division. So far, your performance has been nothing but exceptional," Danzo remarks. As expected of someone he had his eye on; Giou Haruto was an outstanding member of Root. His expertise in wielding the hyoton was outstanding for someone his age, and his mastery of the mokuton had already long surpassed Kinoe's level. Well, Kinoe was an incomplete copy of the Shodai Hokage after all, while Haruto was a direct descendant, the son, in fact, of the Silver Death – Senju Yukine. Their skill difference and degree of usefulness was nothing surprising.

"Your next mission will be to tail two Root members – Kinoe and Kinoto, while they complete their mission," Danzo continues. "The two of them are due to report here for the mission any time now, watch from the shadows and follow them when they head out. Make sure you are not seen, understood?"

"Hai, Danzo-sama." Haruto answers, before merging and becoming one with the shadows of Danzo's office. He suppresses his chakra to the point that unless someone was as good as he was when it came to sensing chakra, which Haruto doubted as Danzo had said that his chakra sensing ability was on par with the Nidaime – Senju Tobirama, then they wouldn't be able to notice him at all.

Haruto watches as two Root operatives, with their ANBU masks covering their faces walk into the room and kneel in front of Danzo. Both look to be in their teens and Haruto guesses that they are Kinoe and Kinoto, with Kinoe being the one whose chakra reminded him of dirt and trees.

"From the very start, Sharingan is a disposable power. Even the ones from the Uchiha clan who possess the sharingan, lose their eyesight the more they use the sharingan, and is said to eventually become blind. Not to mention, there are rumours of being able to activate a power, a kinjutsu, only once the sharingan is lost." Danzo says, as he raises the bandage covering his right eye to reveal a sharingan, making Haruto start slightly in shock. "Go obtain a replacement for this eye of mine."

"If we are to attack a member of the Uchiha, thorough preparation is most likely needed though." Kinoto brings an important point to attention.

"There is someone that is not an Uchiha, who has no parents or teachers and has killed his own comrade, that possesses a sharingan."

Kinoe raises his face, "Hatake…Kakashi."

"There will be no complications afterwards," Danzo agrees with his raspy voice.

Kinoe and Kinoto shunshin out of Danzo's room with a burst of chakra, and Haruto follows suit. From above on a tree branch, Haruto looks on as Kinoe and Kinoto hide in the bushes, while watching Hatake Kakashi stand in front of a grave. The grave of the comrade he killed, Haruto thinks. The image of Toshio's bloody body and smiling face flashes through Haruto's mind, and he wonders what kind of situation led Kakashi to killing his own comrade.

 **XXXXXX**

Kakashi races through the forest, heading to one of Orochimaru's abandoned hideout with Kinoe, Kinoto, and Haruto at his heels. They stop in a clearing, at what appears to be the entrance to the hideout.

Underground, huh, Haruto muses. He forms a shadow clone and commands it to wait outside and observe Kinoto, while Haruto, himself, enters the base behind Kakashi and Kinoe.

As Haruto trails Kakashi and Kinoe from a far distance, ensuring that his presence is not detected, he thinks about Danzo's sharingan. Haruto had suspected that Danzo had a sharingan in his right eye from before, since the chakra signature in that eye was extremely similar to that of an Uchiha's. But Haruto didn't want to believe it, as it meant that Danzo had stolen it from an Uchiha, someone from the same clan as Toshio. _Why would Danzo-sama go that far?_ Haruto questions in his mind.

Haruto shakes away his thoughts as he sees Kinoe slash at Kakashi with a kunai in his hand. _The mission, focus on the mission_ , Haruto thinks, and he focuses his attention on Kinoe and Kakashi.

Kakashi leaps away, barely dodging Kinoe's strike, and blocks the kunai thrown at him with the katana originally strapped on his back. They clash at each other, their katanas drawn out, only for Kinoe to knock Kakashi's katana out of his hands. Kakashi jumps back to avoid a diagonal slash that Kinoe makes with his katana, only for a pillar of wood to break out of the ground and hit Kakashi square in the chest. Being thrown into the wall, Kakashi pushes up his forehead protector to reveal his sharingan, ready to use its power, but Kinoe covers his eyes with his arm while taking a few steps back before jumping away. Kakashi, too, channels chakra to his legs and jumps away, hiding behind a pillar.

As expected of the Copy-Ninja, Hatake Hakashi, Haruto comments silently. It was clear to Haruto that Kakashi was holding back, yet he was able to fight Kinoe to a standstill while avoiding taking any true damage.

"Stop it, Kinoe!" Kakashi says, while blocking Kinoe's strikes with a kunai. "Abandon this mission!"

"For a shinobi, the mission is absolute!" Kinoe replies, continuing to slash at Kakashi with his katana. Kinoe stretches out his left hand and a small square pillar of wood grows out and makes contact with Kakashi, who simultaneously throws a kunai that impales itself into Kinoe's left leg while being pushed back by Kinoe's jutsu.

"The mission is not absolute." Kakashi doesn't give up, as he tries to convince Kinoe. "If killing a comrade is the mission, then that mission is wrong! The one who ordered you to do so is wrong!"

The sounds of bird chirping along with blue lightning sparks forming around Kakashi's right hand, fills the room. Chidori – Hatake Kakashi's unique jutsu, Haruto recognizes. Kinoe lies on the ground, with Kakashi on top of him, hand raised, ready to deliver a final blow. Haruto's breathe hitches slightly as he hears what Kakashi says.

"I wasn't able to protect my comrade, that's why they died!"

For a second, Haruto couldn't help but remember the day of his Root graduation exam. _Toshio...I, also, wasn't strong enough to protect you…_

Haruto observes from the shadows with conflicted feelings, as Kinoe leaves a message for Kakashi and then makes an eye that looked like a sharingan made out of his mokuton. He dispels his shadow clone and follows Kinoe and Kinoto as they dash back to Konoha at a fast pace and head to the Root headquarters to report to Danzo.

"This…" Danzo stares at the fake sharingan that Kinoe handed to him. "What is the meaning of this, Kinoe!?"

"I am very sorry," Kinoe replies. "The mission was a failure."

"If you were taken down by Kakashi, then it's my responsibility, my failure, for miscalculating Kakashi's strength and assigning you the mission. But you returned after abandoning the mission, with a stupid trick like this." Danzo admonishes as he raises the fake sharingan. "The two of you should have just teamed together and get rid of Kakashi!" Danzo's voice becomes even angrier, as he smashes the fake sharingan on the ground, making Kinoto flinch in fear. But Kinoe doesn't flinch, already expecting Danzo to explode in anger.

"Answer me. What is your reason behind this!?" Danzo demands at Kinoe.

"Kakashi-san is a shinobi of Konoha, a comrade of Konoha." Kinoe tries to explain. "Is it really okay to kill such a comrade?"

"The only people that you can call as comrades are the members of Root."

"Is Root not a part of Konoha!?"

"Root is an organization that supports the great tree of Konoha from the depths of the earth, without being seen. Like how the tree and the earth are separate from each other, Root is an individual existence. Danzo proclaims. "Kinoto, what is a shinobi of Root?"

"A shinobi of Root has no name, no feelings, no past, and no future. There is only the mission." Kinoto answers stoically.

"As one who commands Root, my orders are absolute!" Danzo declares angrily. "Are you listening, Kinoe!?"

"No!" Kinoe stands up furiously. "My name is not Kinoe! I am a shinobi of Konoha. Everyone is my comrade!"

Haruto looks on shocked, along with Kinoto, as Kinoe continues to refute Danzo. Both Haruto and Kinoto are stunned and slightly amazed at what Kinoe had said, but Danzo feels not a single ounce of similar feelings; rather, he is appalled by the thoughts Kinoe expressed.

Filled with rage, Danzo lifts up the bandage over his right eye, and knocks Kinoe unconscious with his sharingan. If Kinoe refused to follow his orders, then Danzo would simply have him eliminated. Even without Kinoe, he still had Haruto, who was much more exceptional. "Dispose of Kinoe immedi – "

"Danzo-sama, please wait!" Haruto cries, body-flickering in front of Danzo in a kneeling position. A million thoughts race through Haruto's mind, as he frantically scrambles for a reason that will persuade Danzo not to kill Kinoe. "Kinoe is a user of the mokuton, which is a very important ability to Konoha. Furthermore, if Kinoe is disposed of now, Hatake Kakashi and the Hokage would want answers. Is it really wise to get rid of someone like that, so easily?"

"Very well." Danzo calms himself and takes a step down, acknowledging the fact that Yuurei made a good point. "Take him to the treatment room; we'll bind him with a stronger cursed seal."

Kinoto hurries to obey Danzo's orders, while Haruto remains kneeling on the floor with his head bowed. "I apologize for my actions," Haruto apologizes, lowering his head even further down.

Danzo is about to say something, when a Root operative shunshins inside, telling him that the preparations for the cursed sealing is complete. He snaps his gaze away from Haruto and walks out, motioning for Haruto to follow him while remaining unseen. As Haruto accompanies Danzo to the treatment room, he can't help but hope that Kinoe would be okay. Haruto feels a surge of relief when he sees Kakashi and Kinoe come running out of the treatment room, and he watches silently as Danzo and a number of Root operatives surround the two, debating whether he should interfere or not. If it was Haruto, then he could knock out Kakashi and Kinoe without causing anyone else to get hurt.

Before the situation could get worse, the Sandaime Hokage drops down from somewhere above, and lands in between Danzo, Kakashi, and Kinoe. Haruto listens as the Hokage manages to convince Danzo to give Kinoe to him, and Haruto can't help but wonder whether the Sandaime was aware of what kind of treacherous deeds Danzo had done so far, and would continue to do.

Kinoe takes a few steps forward and bows, "thank you for everything."


	4. Chapter 4: Life as Root Operative (2)

**Chapter Four: Life as Root Operative (2)**

Note: So Kinoe, or Tenzo, is now a part of Team Ro under Kakashi's command. Apparently he gets moved from Root when Naruto is four, but in this story, its one year early. So Naruto and the others are three years old, or soon to be turning three. Haruto is five, Shunsuke is ten while Kaito is 13 years old.

Kakashi was 14 during the kyuubi attack, so he's now a few days away from turning 17 years old. Kinoe is 14 years old, by the way.

Please give me your comments and reviews about this story! So far, I have received none, so I don't know whether people actually like my story or not, and whether I should continue writing this one.

 **Warnings** : AU. OOC.

* * *

Haruto, Shunsuke, and Kaito sat on the ground in one of the rarely used training rooms of the Root headquarters. All three of them were thinking deeply about the 'Kinoe Incident', as it was now being called in Root, and each of them had different opinions and feelings about it.

"Shunsuke, Kaito." Haruto started to speak as he hugged his knees to his chest. "Did I really do the right thing?"

Shunsuke and Kaito glanced at each other, before Kaito motioned for Shunsuke to be the one to reply.

"You did nothing wrong, Haruto." Shunsuke inwardly sighed before he answered. "It's because you intervened that Danzo didn't Kinoe. You saved his life; that's something you should feel proud of."

To be honest, Shunsuke felt that Haruto should have just allowed Kinoe to be killed. Kinoe was a selfish person, who only thought about himself. It was obvious that in order to replace the gap Kinoe made when he left Root, Danzo would either take another child from their home or family, or he would make one of the Root Trainees go through that despicable graduation exam and be inducted into Root ANBU. Either way, people, children, would end up suffering because of what Kinoe did. Yet Kinoe didn't care; he only thought about himself and simply because he didn't agree with Danzo, he no longer wanted to stay in Root.

There were tons of people in Root who didn't think Danzo was right, Shunsuke, himself, was one too! But they all stayed – because they knew what would happen if they left! Kinoe hadn't even gone through the same Root training as the rest of them did. He was treated specially by Danzo, so Kinoe didn't even understand or know what Root really was like, what kind of harsh training they had to endure, all in order to avoid causing any more casualties, any more children to suffer.

But then, Haruto was a really _kind_ person. Shunsuke had never met someone who was as self-sacrificing and devoting as Haruto.

So Shunsuke couldn't really be surprised that Haruto had stopped Danzo from disposing of Kinoe. Haruto did everything and continued to do everything he could, in order to protect Konoha and the King; Shunsuke felt nothing but respect for him. Even though Haruto was only five years old, he shouldered so many burdens on his small body, and gave up so much. Yet there was Kinoe, who was almost three times the age of Haruto, and still, he could only think about himself, and was even creating more trouble for Haruto!

"But…it's only temporary," Haruto protested. Kinoe had betrayed Danzo, he had betrayed Root, and thus, there was no way Danzo would be satisfied unless Kinoe was out of the picture. "Sooner or later, Danzo will give the order for Kinoe to be eliminated."

"Of course, there's nothing that you can do about that, Haruto." Kaito said, displaying none of his true feelings on his face. "If Danzo orders you to kill Kinoe, you should just do it. You have a reason to continue to be a shinobi of Root, don't you, Haruto?" Kaito reminded. "Then you should just follow what Danzo says. Not to mention, if you don't kill Kinoe, then Danzo will simply order another Root operative to kill him, and then there's no guarantee that Kinoe will have a quick and painless death. So really, there's only one path for you to take, Haruto."

If anything, Kaito wanted Kinoe dead; he wished that Haruto hadn't intervened.

Kinoe was just like the Sandaime, both of them were selfish people who cared only about making themselves happy and content. Kinoe chose himself over the rest of the people in Root, not caring about what kind of consequences his actions would have. What 'I am a Shinobi of Konoha. Everyone in Konoha is my comrade'. That was just total nonsense. Root was part of Konoha, the children were part of Konoha. Yet Kinoe had abandoned them, while knowing that another Root Trainee or another child of Konoha would be the one to pay the price and lose their innocence. _What a hypocrite!_

The Sandaime was the same; he was in no way fit to be a Hokage. The Sandaime was Kaito's father! Kaito was his biological son, related by blood! Yet the Sandaime so easily believed that Kaito was dead and didn't even try to search for him or obtain his dead body. Kaito was here, suffering at the hands of Danzo as a Root operative, and the Hokage made no action to save him. But when Kakashi asked the Hokage to save Kinoe, his father agreed. Why!? Was it because Kakashi was the student of the Yondaime, his successor, that's why the Sandaime found Kakashi to be more important than Kaito? There's no way the Hokage didn't know what kind of things Danzo did, yet he allowed Danzo to get away with everything, simply because Danzo was his old friend.

In the end, the Sandaime was a person who thought that remaining friends with Danzo was _more important_ than protecting Konoha or the King. He was a failure as Hokage; there was no way Kaito would ever acknowledge such a person as his father.

"I thought Kinoe was admirable, though." Haruto spoke up, making Shunsuke and Kaito look at him appalled. "Kinoe, he refused to kill Kakashi even though it was the mission. He disobeyed the mission in order to protect a fellow comrade from Konoha. Kinoe's a good person, he's a good shinobi. I don't want to have to kill such a person."

Shunsuke and Kaito shared a glance, both of them knowing that it was impossible for them to agree with Haruto. _Kinoe deserved to be dead_ , Shunsuke and Kaito thought. _Haruto is too forgiving_. It was probably impossible for someone like Haruto to even feel hate. After all, Toshio was dead because of Danzo, yet instead of blaming Danzo, Haruto blamed himself. Haruto suffered so much in Kirigakure because he was kekkei genkai user, and instead of blaming Kiri, Haruto blamed himself for being born with such power.

"You don't have to make a decision now," Shunsuke tried to reassure Haruto. "Danzo probably won't make a move to eliminate Kinoe until a few months have passed, in order to avoid being suspected. So you should just decide what you want to do then, Haruto."

Both Shunsuke and Kaito would never reveal to Haruto what they truly felt about Kinoe. It was better for Haruto to assume that the two of them thought the same as him.

If Haruto couldn't bring himself to kill Kinoe, then Shunsuke or Kaito would be the one to do it.

 **XXXXXX**

Haruto stood in the centre of a training room in the Root headquarters and did his best to ignore Danzo's stare boring into his back. Haruto fluidly sped through hand seals – Tiger, Dog, Snake.

 _Mokuton: Moku bunshin no jutsu_.

A wood clone formed in front of Haruto, who immediately leapt back and formed the hand-seals for another technique. Tiger, horse, tiger, snake.

 _Mokuton: Daijurin no jutsu._

Haruto stretched out his right arm, which transformed into big trees and lengthened and sped towards his wood clone, impaling it and causing his clone to dispel.

"Good," Danzo remarked as he watched Haruto perform his mokuton techniques. "Yuurei, perform the next jutsu."

Haruto made a snake seal with his hands, and cracks in the ground started to form as trees started to grow out all around the room at a tremendous speed.

Mokuton: Jukai Koutan.

In a matter of mere moments, the training room had been turned into a vast forest, complete with trees and there was even grass growing on the ground. Haruto grimaced inwardly when he noticed that some of the trees were a transparent ice-blue colour, instead of the usual brown and green colours.

"Next."

Haruto formed a ram seal with his left hand and channelled chakra, while flinging out his right hand.

 _Kai_.

Ice started to coat on the surface of the trees before it spread at a terrifyingly fast speed and the vast forest that filed the training room was totally encased in ice. A shattering sound filled the room, as the ice covered forest broke and dissolved into many small pieces, leaving nothing behind except a cold, chilly air.

Haruto then took a deep breath, before he once again formed a snake seal with his hands, in order to perform an extremely advanced technique.

 _Mokuton: Kajukai Kourin_.

The ground started to buckle and crack as trees were forced to grow out at a rapid pace, and soon, the room was once again filled with a dense forest of flowering trees. The flowers started to open and release yellow, sandy, pollen into the air. Haruto made sure to control where the pollen spread, so that he and Danzo would not be affected.

"Excellent," Danzo nodded from his position in the training room. Haruto's talent in the shinobi arts was nothing short of phenomenal. At such a young age, he was already capable of using the same magnificent techniques that Danzo had only seen the Shodai Hokage perform before. It didn't matter to him whether Kinoe was in Root or not, or whether he was dead or alive; Haruto was much more useful. "You can take a rest, Yuurei. Report to me tomorrow morning"

"Hai, Danzo-sama." Haruto answered in acknowledgement, bowing slightly.

Danzo walked out of the training room and Haruto collapsed on the ground in relief, his legs no longer having the strength to support him. It was a good thing Danzo then, Haruto thought, as he panted and desperately tried to catch his breath.

Ever since the Kinoe incident a bit more than four months ago, Danzo had been extra strict and demanding when it came to Haruto's mokuton practicing, and Haruto was seriously at his limit.

He was _five!_

Haruto didn't even have that much chakra and stamina to perform so many ninjutsus, yet Danzo seemed to not understand that. Danzo asked for a mokuton jutsu one after another, never appearing to be satisfied.

But there was nothing Haruto could do except meet Danzo's continuously rising expectations.

Close to five and a half years old, Haruto had risen to become Root's top assassin, and there were no Root operatives that had not heard the name Yuurei before. Haruto was close to earning Danzo's full trust, and if he just persevered a little longer, then Haruto would soon be able to become Danzo's right hand.

That's why Haruto couldn't not meet Danzo's expectations, regardless of how much he had to push his body to do so, as then that would cause Danzo to be dissatisfied and Haruto would no longer be trusted.

Lying on the ground, Haruto groaned as he tried to move and get up, but couldn't. He had used up too much chakra, that his body was way past the stage of exhaustion. It looked like he wouldn't be able to visit Yuuto today either, Haruto sighed inwardly. He hadn't seen Yuuto since early December, and it was now mid-January already.

The last time Haruto visited Yuuto, it had been a day after the Hyuuga affair and Haruto had raced to check on Yuuto, full of worry. Despite knowing that Yuuto was in Root headquarters, and there was no way an enemy could get in and hurt him, Haruto couldn't help but be anxious. After all, the kumogakure ambassador had been able to kidnap the hyuuga heiress straight from the Hyuuga compound. Haruto had gone to see Yuuto, even though he had not received permission from Danzo. Luckily, Danzo didn't discover that he had done so, and so Haruto was not punished.

Been a month and a half, huh, Haruto mused.

Haruto wanted to ask Danzo if he could be allowed to visit Yuuto, but Haruto was concerned that if he brought up Yuuto, then it would cause more attention to be drawn to Yuuto. Yuuto was almost three and a half years old, and was almost the age in which Root trainees started their ninja training. Danzo had yet to mention anything about making Yuuto start his Root training, and Haruto wanted to keep it like that. Yuuto will just have to be a bit more patient.

 **XXXXXX**

The next day, before the sun had even risen, Haruto rolled out of bed and put on the ANBU set of gear. Black shinobi pants with the standard shuriken pouch and kunai holsters, a blank tank top that showed the ANBU tattoo on his left shoulder, a grey flak jacket that went over the tank top, black gloves that had metal plates on the back of their hand area and went a bit over the elbows, and grey metal arm guards. Lastly, Haruto strapped the tip-less tanto onto his back, put on his ANBU mask, and headed out of his room for Danzo's office.

"You called for me, Danzo-sama." Haruto said, kneeling on the floor with his head bowed.

"Operative Yuurei, I have a solo mission I want you to do." Danzo announced. "You will be gathering information on your targets – Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi, specifically the latter, and reporting directly back to me with it. No detail is insignificant. Your two targets are due to arrive at Training Ground 44 for a training exercise in a few minutes. Start spying on them from there, and then return here once the exercise is finished."

"May I ask about the necessity of assassination?"

"I'll leave it up to you. Do not disappoint me, Yuurei."

"Hai, Danzo-sama." Haruto bowed lowly, before disappearing in a shunshin.

Haruto reappeared at Training Ground 44, and perched himself on a tall tree branch. He felt glad that this time's mission wasn't an assassination mission, and normally, Haruto wouldn't mind intelligence gathering missions. But Haruto was not very happy with this time's mission targets.

Uchiha Shisui, also known as Shunshin no Shisui due to his overwhelming speed and skill in the use of the body flicker, and was recently promoted to Jonin and said to be one of the most talent members of the Uchiha clan. Uchiha Itachi, said to be a ninja of prodigious talent, and had been able to graduate from the Ninja Academy in one year at the mere age of seven, along with awakening his sharingan a week ago at the age of eight years old.

In other words, both of Haruto's targets this time were _Uchiha_ , people from the same clan as _Toshio_.

In fact, Uchiha Shisui, was Toshio's _older brother_ , and that made Haruto feel even worse.

Haruto was supposed to protect the Uchiha, yet here he was, having to spy on them and give away information about them. At this rate, how was he going to keep his promise with Toshio?

Seeing Shisui and Itachi arrive at the training ground, Haruto pushed away all his thoughts and focused on the mission. If he failed to complete the mission, then not only would the promise to Toshio be unfulfillable, Haruto would also become unable to protect Yuuto and the 'King' of Konoha.

Haruto leapt from tree branch to tree branch, following Shisui and Itachi from behind, while ensuring that he was not spotted.

"What are the details of the training exercise?" Itachi asked, as he ran across a branch and swung down on a vine.

"There are three parts," Shisui explained while swinging on a vine. "The first part is to find the traces left by the fugitive, and then track him down." Shisui spun around, still holding onto the vine, and watched as Itachi cross-slashed a giant snake with a tanto and a kunai held in his hands. "You're good!" Shisui commented, receiving a smirk from Itachi.

After travelling for about five more minutes, Shisui and Itachi stopped in a small clearing and jumped down onto the ground. Shisui bent down and lightly traced his hand over a footprint left in the moss, while Itachi watched from behind, silently admiring Shisui's skill in noticing such small details. Itachi glanced slightly to the left and ran over, noticing something that caught his attention.

"This is…" Itachi murmured, as he held up a small piece of branch.

"Ooh, so our guy stepped on a piece of branch, huh." Shisui remarked as he looked at the branch. "Good job noticing it," Shisui praised, as he patted Itachi on the shoulder. "But that is a decoy. For a piece of wood to break after being stepped on, it has too much moisture. Also, see this clean cut? It's obvious that the guy was in a hurry to make a decoy; what sloppy work." Shisui explained, before the two of them headed further into the forest, in the opposite direction from where the decoy was laid at.

The sun was starting to set and so the sky was a beautiful reddish-orange colour. Itachi bent slightly over on a rock in the middle of a small river, and examined the small mark on the bottom side of the rock.

"That was probably left by a fish," Shisui noted.

Itachi sighed in disappointment, "So it's not even a decoy?"

"Yeah, that's the main purpose of making decoys – everything starts to look like one." Shisui pointed out. "The more confused the pursuer side is, the easier it is for the fugitive."

Shisui laughed at something Itachi said, and for a moment, all Haruto could see was the smiling face of Toshio. He rapidly tried to shake away the image, but it was near impossible. From the very start, the way Shisui talked, the way he moved, the way he praised Itachi, the way he explained and taught Itachi things.

 _It was exactly like Toshio_.

Haruto's breath caught in his throat as he heard what Shisui said. "It's nice to have a meal with someone you can trust." Shisui was a compassionate person, very perceptive and intuitive that he could see through the emotional nature of others.

Haruto forced himself to look away from the heart-warming scene of Shisui and Itachi eating together. He desperately hoped that they finished the training exercise soon, because Haruto couldn't stand it anymore. Shisui reminded him too much of Toshio, that Haruto didn't think he could handle it anymore.

" _Is this my punishment, Toshio?"_ Haruto silently asked. _"Is this what I deserve for killing you that day? For not being strong enough to protect you? Is it your wish to see me suffer, Toshio? If that is your wish, then I will accept it, Toshio. Because it was my fault you died. No matter what Shunsuke and Kaito say, it's an unchanging fact that it was my hand, my kunai, that killed you."_

The sound of metal clashing startled Haruto and he hurriedly went to check it out, a few steps behind Shisui and Itachi. Root ANBU? What are they doing here, Haruto thought, as he saw three Root ANBUs chasing after and attacking a Konoha ANBU with a bird mask. Shisui and Itachi jumped in between, and Shisui cut the wire to help the Konoha ANBU escape.

I see, so the bird mask ANBU has a scroll containing information about a traitor of Konoha, which the Root operatives want. Haruto deduced, as he observed from behind a tree.

As Shisui demanded answers from the Root operatives, Haruto debated on what he should do. There were two choices for him to take – he could use Shisui and Itachi as a distraction while Haruto himself disposes of the bird mask ANBU, or he could knock out the ANBU and retrieve the scroll. Between the two choices, the first choice was obviously the easiest and most logical decision, but also one that would cause Shisui and Itachi to be place in danger. No, no. Haruto shook his head. There weren't two choices; Shisui and Itachi were part of the Uchiha clan and Haruto had promised to protect the Uchiha.

There was only one option for Haruto to take – knock out the Konoha ANBU, retrieve the scroll, and stop the other Root operatives from fighting against Shisui and Itachi.

Forming a ram seal with his left hand, Haruto slowly manipulated the water beside where the ANBU was at. The water rose silently and gently trailed into the bird mask ANBU's pocket. Haruto made the water wrap around the scroll until it was totally encased in water, then he froze the water-wrapped-scroll.

Running through a couple of one-handed seals, Haruto created an ice mirror in front of him and a small one in the ANBU's pocket. Haruto stuck his hand through the mirror in front of him, only for his hand to come out of the mirror inside the pocket of the bird mask ANBU. Haruto gently grabbed the frozen scroll, before pulling his hand back out from the ice mirror, the scroll now in his hold.

Sealing the scroll away, Haruto took out a few senbon and threw it at the Konoha ANBU, aiming for the place at the neck that would put the ANBU in a false-death state. Seeing that Shisui and Itachi's attention were on the assumingly ANBU, Haruto decided to make his move. He quickly made a shadow clone, and then both shunshined behind the three Root operatives. Haruto grabbed two of the Root operatives and quickly leapt away from the clearing, with his shadow clone doing the same with the third Root member.

By the time Shisui and Itachi turned back to look at the Root ANBUs, they were no longer there, leaving the two quite surprised and confused.

The three Root operatives immediately tried to attack Haruto, but stopped when they recognized his mask.

"Yuurei…"

Haruto nodded and handed over the scroll he had taken from the Konoha ANBU to them. "Deal with the traitor and report to Danzo-sama accordingly."

The Root member in the middle stepped forward and took the scroll, before all three bowed slightly in thanks and then shunshined away.

Haruto sighed in relief, he had somehow been able to complete his mission and keep his promise to Toshio. Now that the problem was solved and the training exercise was over, Haruto headed back to the Root headquarters to report to Danzo.

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What do you guys think so far? ~~


	5. Chapter 5: Life as Root Operative (3)

**Chapter Five: Life as Root Operative (3)**

Note: This chapter is shorter than the others ones, because I wasn't sure how to separate the scenes. But I hope you like it!

I hope you guys had a good New Year! I'll be posting two chapters this time! But this is only because I'll be taking a bit of a break from writing - sorry, sort of buried under preparation for finals, reports, and presentations I have to do... :(

Please give me some reviews! The more reviews or follows I get, the more likely I will try to get back to writing earlier XP!.

 **Warnings** : AU. Slight OOC.

* * *

"Operative Yuurei, reporting back, Danzo-sama." Haruto spoke, as he kneeled on the floor.

"I see." Danzo replied, looking up from a stack of papers on his desk. "Your opinion on Uchiha Itachi's skill?"

"Uchiha Itachi's prowess in the ninja arts is definitely remarkable. He's at least on par or even better than an average Root operative. But what makes Uchiha Itachi stand out from the rest is his overwhelming intellect, and ability to formulate plans and make decisions in a mere matter of seconds." Haruto sighed inwardly, as usual, Danzo's obsession with the Uchiha was still going strong and it didn't seem to be lessening any time soon.

Danzo smiled faintly. "Nothing strange at all; that's what happens when you graduate the academy in a single year." A genius seen only once in a generation; it was a pity that Uchiha Itachi was born into the Uchiha clan. The Uchiha was a cursed clan, with a cursed power; they would one day ultimately bring disaster to Konoha.

Haruto remained silent from his position on the floor, unsure of what to say. Danzo had been extremely interested in Uchiha Itachi, ever since his graduation from the academy, and it had only increased as the months went on. But Haruto knew that nothing good came out of Danzo being interested in someone. If this went on, sooner or later, Uchiha Itachi would be the one to pay the price, and he would be destroyed or totally changed into a new person, because of Danzo.

Haruto's body tensed up at what Danzo asked next.

"His loyalty?"

Haruto hesitated briefly, his mind frantically trying to think of something suitable to say, that would not increase Danzo's interest in Itachi. "From just observing a training exercise, I cannot yet say anything about Uchiha Itachi's loyalty."

"You don't have enough information to make a conclusion."

"Hai, Danzo-sama." Haruto lowered his head in acknowledgment. "I apologize for my failure."

Danzo tapped his finger on his cane as he looked at Operative Yuurei. Yuurei was undoubtedly an indispensable member of his Root ANBU division. Although being only five years old, Operative Yuurei was already Root's top assassin, and Danzo was _almost_ confident that Yuurei would make a good right-hand man, and could help him lead Root. But there was one thing that was stopping Danzo from _fully_ trusting this operative – his bond with the Uchiha. Danzo had recently noticed that ever since Yuurei became a full-fledged Root operative, no Uchiha had been inducted into Root, and neither did any Uchihas become Root trainees either. It could simply be a coincidence or it could be the work of Yuurei, so Danzo needed to verify just how loyal Operative Yuurei was to him and Root.

"Operative Yuurei," Danzo said, with a small smirk on his lips. "Due to your excellent performance in the past year, I have decided to assign you on a solo mission."

"It is an honour, Danzo-sama." Zero bowed his head in deference.

"As I said, it is a solo mission of indefinite length. Your mission is to gather intelligence on the potential political threats – the Uchiha clan and their heir, Uchiha Itachi. You may already be aware, but recently, the relation between the village and the Uchiha has been quite strained. I have even been told that there are signs of the Uchiha acting suspicious, lately. Therefore it is necessary for every single detail to be reported directly back to me. For the duration of this mission, you will not receive any other assignments unless there is an emergency."

A cold chill spread all across Haruto's body, disbelief and fear causing his breath to hitch slightly. _This was a test. Danzo was testing him, to see where his loyalties actually were._ Haruto quickly forced himself to regain composure and once again, bowed his head. "I understand, Danzo-sama. I will not fail you."

Haruto knew that Danzo was testing him; he must have been too obvious when it came to protecting the Uchiha and Danzo was suspicious, that's why he assigned him to be the one to spy on the Uchiha. Without a doubt, Danzo must have had the Uchiha kept under surveillance since the Kyuubi Attack, and he would immediately know if Haruto misreported something. Haruto _had_ to complete the mission successfully, in order to make Danzo fully trust him, it was necessary. But wouldn't doing so, go against his promise to Toshio? He was supposed to protect the Uchiha, but Danzo would definitely use the information he gained about the Uchiha clan to execute the many plans he must have.

"Your dismissed, Operative Yuurei."

"Hai, Danzo-sama."

 **XXXXXX**

"Operative Hiou, successfully completed mission 561-B, Danzo-sama."

"The target?"

"Eliminated. I made sure to leave traces of raiton chakra being used around the area so Kumogakure will fall under suspicion."

"Good, dismissed, Operative Hiou."

Danzo smirked in the darkness; it was all going according to his plans. Hiruzen was a naïve fool as usual. Not only did Kinoe let himself be so easily influenced by Kakashi, he went against his orders and betrayed Root. There was no way Danzo would leave someone like that alive for long.

Operative Hiou gave a bow in acknowledgement, before exiting the room. As he walked his way back to his barrack, a flicker of chakra to his right caught his attention.

"Shunsuke." Kaito greeted him.

"Kaito," Shunsuke gave a nod in greeting, before he resumed walking with Kaito falling into steps alongside him.

He opened the door to his room and entered, lying his body down across the bed. "So, did you need something from me, Kaito?"

"I heard he's dead – Kinoe." Kaito commented, from where he sat, leaning against the wall.

"Oh? The information spread quite quickly."

"Of course it would. It's Kinoe, more than half of Root wanted him dead." Kaito shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "There's no way Kinoe's death could be kept quiet."

"Hmmm." Shunsuke gave a hum in agreement.

"Haruto, are you going to tell him about Kinoe?"

Shunsuke sighed and sat up on his bed, to look at Kaito. "Probably not, I think." Seeing Kaito's questioning eyes, he elaborated. "If I told Haruto, he would probably cry or feel guilty about it. I don't want that to happen."

"Yeah, that idiot would probably do so." Kaito snorted in amusement. "I still don't get how that idiot could survive so long in Root with such a bleeding heart."

Shunsuke chuckled wryly, "well, it's what makes Haruto special, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah." Kaito ruffled his hair and looked away. "I guess that's true."

Shunsuke looked down on his hands, contemplatively. _Root, huh_. Now would be the best time to bring up the subject. Shunsuke turned, and gazed seriously into Kaito's eyes. "Kaito, I want to bring Root to light. Will you help me?"

Kaito shot up from his slouched position in shock. "W-wait, you mean you want to –"

The sound of the door opening stopped Kaito from continuing, and both of them turned to look at who had entered.

"Shunsuke, Kaito." Haruto greeted from the doorway, before he stepped in and closed the door. "It's been quite a while."

"Haruto, I'm glad you are doing well." Shunsuke replied from where he sat on the bed.

"Yo, Haruto." Kaito raised a hand in greeting.

Shunsuke and Kaito stared in surprise, as they watched Haruto just nod and then walk to a place near the wall and sat down, without saying anything. The two exchanged questioning glances, before Shunsuke spoke up.

"Haruto, are you okay? Is there something wrong?"

Haruto hugged his knees to his chest and answered with a wavering voice, "I-my next mission, I am to spy on the Uchiha."

Kaito sighed inwardly as he looked up at the ceiling. So Danzo's finally making his move, huh? Well, it's not really unexpected considering his contradictory obsession with the Uchiha; Danzo dislikes the Uchiha, yet he wants and desires the power of the Uchiha – the Sharingan. His eyes moved over to scan Haruto and he sighed inwardly once again, cursing Toshio in his mind. Just what was Toshio thinking when he asked Haruto to protect the Uchiha before he died!? It's obvious that that's near impossible with Danzo in the picture. In the end, what Toshio was doing was just making Haruto suffer.

"Haruto, it's clear that Danzo is testing you. You should just report to Danzo whatever you see about the Uchiha." Shunsuke finally said. "You are aware of how antagonistic the Uchiha have been viewing the village recently, right? Then the information you obtain will be useful to the village in order to lower down the hostilities between the village and the Uchiha."

"T-that's…" Haruto looked up in surprise. "You're right. I, I'm also supposed to protect Konoha. I can't hesitate each time an Uchiha is involved, just because of my promise to Toshio." He smiled gratefully at Shunsuke, "arigatou, Shunsuke."

"But," Kaito spoke up. "If you have to choose between the village or the Uchiha clan, which will you choose, Haruto?"

"Eh?" Haruto turned to stare at Kaito in astonishment, before lowering his eyes. "The village or the Uchiha, I…" Haruto clenched his fists in fear, what happens if one day, he has to make that choice? He didn't think he could…he promised Toshio to protect the Uchiha, but he, himself, also swore to protect Konoha.

"Well, well. You don't have to answer that now, Haruto." Shunsuke said, trying his best to reassure Haruto. "Just keep what Kaito said in mind, okay Haruto?" Receiving a nod from Haruto, Shunsuke continued. "Anyway, there's something I want to tell you two."

Kaito and Haruto both looked at Shunsuke, one with slight recognition and the other with confusion.

"I've decided. I want to bring Root to light." Shunsuke said. "I'm sick of it. I joined Root in order to protect Shikamaru from Danzo and to help protect Konoha, but instead, here I am, killing and spying on my fellow comrades from Konoha. Danzo has long crossed the line; his actions in the name of protecting Konoha have long crossed the line. If Danzo isn't stopped and this continues, Konoha will one day be dragged into a war or fallen into ruin because of him."

Shunsuke paused slightly and looked seriously at Haruto and Kaito. "Will you two help me?"

"I'll help you, Shunsuke." Kaito answered swiftly, resolve clear in his eyes. "This mess all happened because of the Sandaime, and no matter how much I want to deny it, the Sandaime is still my father. That's why, as his son, and as a Sarutobi, I have a responsibility and duty to clean up what my father has done." Kaito had to do it, he had to do what his father couldn't do, and stop Danzo before he destroyed even more lives of the people living in Konoha. "But how will we bring Root to light? The Sandaime will definitely not help us."

"We won't go to the Sandaime." Shunsuke replied. "We will go to the clan heads; if the clan heads team up together and approach the Hokage about Root, the Sandaime won't be able to deny or say anything."

"That's true," Kaito nodded in agreement. "Together, the clans have more power over the Hokage."

"Haruto, how about you, will you help us?" Shunsuke asked, hoping that Haruto would also agree. In order for Root to be brought to light, his help was definitely needed. Only Haruto, who was the highest ranking operative of Root, would be able to find all the evidence they needed to incriminate and prove Danzo guilty. Without Haruto, they would never be able to come out of the shadows and into the light.

"I'm not very fond of going behind the Hokage's back, but I'll help you." Haruto decided. "I, I swore to protect Konoha. Not to mention, both of you are my best friends, so I want to help you."

"Thanks, Haruto." Shunsuke smiled and shared a look of achievement with Kaito. "Before we can bring up Root to the clan heads, we need evidence. This is where you come in, Haruto. With your position in Root, you should be able to find evidence of what Danzo has done so far."

"I'll do it. I'll pass on all the evidence I can gather about Danzo and Root to you or Kaito, whenever I can." Haruto nodded his head seriously, determination clear in his eyes.

 _For the sake of Konoha_ , the three of them thought.

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How do you guys think?


	6. Chapter 6: Life as Root Operative (4)

**Chapter Six: Life as Root Operative (4)**

Note: A bit of a time skip, since nothing really major happens after the hyuuga affair to the time Naruto and the others enter the academy. We are getting really close to when Root will be revealed to the masses XP.

I hope you guys had a good New Year! This is my second chapter I posted this time! But this is only because I'll be taking a bit of a break from writing - sorry, sort of buried under preparation for finals, reports, and presentations I have to do... :(

Please give me some reviews! The more reviews or follows I get, the more likely I will try to get back to writing earlier XP!.

 **Warnings** : AU. Slight OOC. Some parts from Itachi-shinden.

* * *

Hiruzen felt his old age once again as he listened to Fugaku speak up about the low number of Uchihas in the shinobi force, and his complaint about how his son was still not recommended for the Chunin Selection Exams, despite Itachi's prowess and ability that far surpassed that of a genin's.

He had been feeling old every day since he had been forced out of his retirement, and dealing with the Uchiha and trying to lessen the hostility between them and the village, only made him feel even more old and weary. Hiruzen pinched the bridge of his nose and puffed out on his pipe. He really was getting way too old for this shit. Not only did he have to look after Uzumaki Naruto, who had been moved out of the orphanage a year ago, and make sure no civilians or shinobi got their hands on him. Hiruzen also had to deal with Danzo, who had yet to give up on turning Naruto into a weapon for the village, and was still expressing his distrust towards the Uchiha.

While it was true Hiruzen had once wanted the Hokage position, that was almost _forty_ years ago, and now, he just wanted to spend the remainder of his life peacefully with what little family he had. But there was no suitable person in Konoha who could take over the Hat, and so Hiruzen was stuck with dealing with endless conflict and politics for the majority of his time, unable to relax with his family. Due to that, it was no surprise that the only son Hiruzen had left – Sarutobi Asuma, had grew dissatisfied and frustrated, and left Konoha to become one of the guards for the Daimyo.

One of the possible candidates Hiruzen had wanted to pass the hat onto, was boozing and gambling her way through the Elemental Nations, swearing to not ever return to Konoha. Another was too busy perverting on women in hot springs and chasing after leads that would lead him to one of Hiruzen's former prized student – Orochimaru, and the third candidate was far too young and currently doing his best to drown himself in depression, sinking further and further into the harsh depths of ANBU. There was one person who desperately wanted the Hat since many years ago, but he was in no way, suitable for the job. The only way for that man to become Hokage, was if he stepped over Hiruzen's lifeless corpse.

The admired position of Hokage, that had once been a symbol of pride and happiness for Hiruzen, was now nothing but a shackle chaining Hiruzen down and reminding him of the multiple mistakes he had done so far, in the past.

Hiruzen knew that Fugaku was dissatisfied and angry about how the Uchiha were suspected and isolated since the Kyuubi Attack, but there really was nothing Hiruzen could do, even if he was the Hokage. If it was that easy to convince and control the opinions of the people of Konoha, then Naruto's situation would never have gotten this messed up.

Despite Hiruzen's and the Yondaime's wishes for Naruto to be seen as a hero, hardly anyone in the Konoha viewed him as so, and so poor Naruto was left being raised in an orphanage, not a clue about why he was hated by the majority of the village. Hiruzen's move to make Naruto's status as a jinchuuruki an S-rank secret, punishable by death, had not improved Naruto's treatment at all. Rather, it had made Naruto even more isolated from the village.

The village looked at the Uchiha with suspicion because the Sharingan had the power to control the Kyuubi, and a prideful clan like the Uchiha saw this as an unfair treatment, and so they responded with anger and frustration, which made the village even more suspicious of the Uchiha, which resulted in the Uchiha being even more dissatisfied, and so the cycle went on, never ending.

Maybe allowing Itachi to participate in the Chunin Exams next year in March, would help improve the relationship between Konoha and the Uchiha? Hiruzen thought.

Normally, it was required to be a team of three genins, in order to enter the exams, but making an exception in this case, should be fine. Hiruzen decided to ask for Danzo's opinion, later on.

 **XXXXXX**

It had been about three years since Yuuto and his older brother, Haruto, had started to live in the Root Headquarters. Many seasons had passed, and it was now November, and the weather was starting to become much chillier. Yuuto had turned five years old three months ago, while his nii-san had turned seven.

About a year ago, when Yuuto had turned four years old, Danzo-sama had deemed him ready to start his Root training. Yuuto knew that Haruto was not very happy when it was time for him to start his ninja training, but Yuuto was glad that he did. Yuuto wanted to hurry up and become a shinobi, so that he could help lessen the burden of his older brother. Haruto had once told Yuuto that his reason for being a shinobi was to protect Konoha and the King, and Yuuto felt he could understand. He also wanted to help protect Konoha, because Yuuto, just like his older brother, had fallen in love with this village. Konoha was so different from Kirigakure, where Yuuto's hyoton had been feared and hated. But in Root, almost everyone had a special ability, and no one had ever tried to kill Yuuto simply because he had a kekkei genkai.

Though the Root training was harsh, Yuuto had made close friends with the other Root trainees. His closest friends were Sai, Shin, Torune, and Fuu. Sai was the same age as Yuuto, while Shin, Torune, and Fuu were all three years older than him. While Sai and Shin were orphans and part of Root since they could remember, both Torune and Fuu had offered themselves to Danzo, so that Danzo would not take their younger cousins into Root.

All five of them, Yuuto included, adored and admired Haruto. Haruto's name and fame had spread throughout Root, that there was probably not a single Root trainee or member that didn't know his name. The Root trainees all respected and acknowledged Haruto, because Haruto was their goal, and who they wanted to be. Many of them like Torune and Fuu, had joined Root in order to protect some precious to them. Protecting that one person from Danzo took all their ability, and they didn't have the leeway to care about other people. But Haruto was different; Haruto was able to protect not only his precious people, but also the whole of Uchiha clan. That was the kind of shinobi all the Root trainees strived for, and wanted to become.

Ever since Yuuto had started his ninja training, he didn't have much time to see his older brother at all, and Yuuto really missed him. To be honest, Yuuto didn't even remember the last time he was able to see Haruto, because it was too long time ago. But for now, as long as Yuuto knew his older brother was alive, then he was fine with that.

At first, Yuuto had been a bit depressed because he wasn't as smart or as talented as nii-san, but he had quickly gotten over it. Nii-san was the best brother, and Yuuto was forever glad that his nii-san was so kind and caring; he would never trade nii-san for anyone else. Yuuto had long noticed that his older brother didn't actually _like_ being a shinobi, despite how good of one he was, and so Yuuto was fine with just training hard and slowly making his way towards his goal.

It had been quite clear since the beginning, that Yuuto did not possess the same overwhelming and phenomenal talent in the shinobi arts as his older brother. But nevertheless, Yuuto's skill in the shinobi arts was still much greater compared to other children, so Danzo was not dissatisfied. Rather, Yuuto was actually even better in some areas compared to Haruto. For example, Yuuto's ability to twist his words and his competence at reading other people, gave him the edge when it came to areas like infiltration and interrogation. In fact, Yuuto would probably be ready to be inducted into Root in two, or at most, three years later, from now.

Almost two years ago, Danzo had assigned the long term mission of observing the Uchiha to Haruto, also known as Operative Yuurei, and he was not disappointed. Operative Yuurei had done his work perfectly well, and there were absolutely no signs that he had any form of attachment towards the Uchiha. It was for that reason Danzo had placed his trust fully in Yuurei, and gave him the position as his own right-hand man. Other than Danzo, himself, there was probably no other person who knew as much about Root as Operative Yuurei.

Danzo tapped a finger on his cane, as he thought about Hiruzen's offer to have Uchiha Itachi participate in the Chunin Exams this coming spring. Itachi was someone that Danzo wanted under his control; Itachi could be the trump card to sever the link between Konoha and Uchiha that had continued since the establishment of the village.

But on the other hand, there was another way for Danzo to use Itachi. If Uchiha Itachi, the renowned prodigy of the Uchiha Clan, was to die in the Chunin Exams, then it would cast a suspicious light on the Uchihas, as one who pressured the Hokage and the village administration to allow their heir to take the exams alone, despite not being ready. The capability of Hiruzen as Hokage, would then be questioned by the people of Konoha, for being the one who gave in to the Uchiha's requests and permitted a genin who wasn't even ready, to participate in the Chunin Exams.

The latter was the better option, Danzo decided, smirking darkly.

The relation between Konoha and Uchiha would weaken further more with the death of Itachi, and even without Itachi, Danzo had many pieces on hand that he could use to get rid of the Uchiha. Like Uchiha Shisui, he was a very skilled shinobi that if Danzo played his hands correctly, could be the one to take Itachi's role.

And Danzo knew the perfect person to assign this job to; his smirk growing even wider.

Danzo summoned one of his Root operatives, who shunshined into his office and kneeled in front of him.

"Danzo-sama."

"Operative Tsuchinoto, bring Operative Yuurei here."

"Right away, Danzo-sama." Tsuchinoto bowed, before disappearing in a shunshin. He reappeared a few minutes later, with Operative Yuurei beside him, and bowed once more to Danzo, before leaving the room.

"Danzo-sama." Haruto greeted, while lowering himself into a bow.

"Operative Yuurei. There is a mission I want you to do." Danzo started explaining. "In a few months, the Chunin Selection Exams will be held in Konoha and Uchiha Itachi will be participating by himself. Your mission is to eliminate Uchiha Itachi, while making it look like the work of Kumogakure. Failure is not allowed, understood?"

A cold chill washed over Haruto's body, and he froze, unable to respond for a moment. _Kill an Uchiha!?_ Haruto quickly bowed in acknowledgement, wishing that Danzo didn't notice his reluctance.

"Hai, Danzo-sama."

 **XXXXXX**

Haruto jumped his way across the tree branches, as he followed Uchiha Itachi behind secretly to the Naka River. Over the past two years since Haruto had been observing the Uchiha clan, he had long noticed that it was common for Itachi to meet up and talk or train with Uchiha Shisui, up on the cliff that overlooked Naka River. While Haruto, himself, agreed that it was peaceful and quite calming to watch the river flow, along with the rustling of the trees when the wind blowed, he liked the view from the top of the Hokage Mountain, where the faces of the Hokages were carved, more.

Perched on one of the top branches, Haruto observed Itachi spar with Shisui, deep in thought about the latest mission he had been assigned on.

"Hah!" Expelling a breath full of ambition, Shisui looked at Itachi and smiled. "Yeah, training with you forces me to really put my back into it."

Itachi looked at his cheerful friend and felt refreshed in both mind and body, as he stood there drenched in sweat.

They had been sparring seriously for three hours or so, as a way for Itachi to vent his anger with his life as a genin. They had already gone fifteen rounds, with breaks of about three minutes after each one, resulting in six wins for Itachi and nine for Shisui.

The only rule was no sharingan; everything else was fair game. Sharingan was off limits because the visual technique used up a large amount of chakra, and they wanted to spar for as long as possible.

Both Itachi and Shisui very skilled, Haruto thought, as he watched the two continue to spar, in front of him. Both looked to be having fun, and it was a big difference to the atmosphere of the Uchiha Clan. Ever since Haruto had been given the mission to spy on the Uchiha roughly two years ago, he had become aware of just how strained the relationship between the village and the Uchiha was. The Uchiha were extremely dissatisfied and frustrated with how they were treated, that many had decided violence was the only solution; there were even some people in the clan who were in favour of launching a coup d'etat.

The words that Kaito had said to him a few years ago, kept on appearing in Haruto's mind. _If you had to choose between the village and the Uchiha, which would you choose_. Haruto felt very conflicted, and he couldn't understand why the Uchiha couldn't work toward a peaceful solution with the village.

 _If it were you, Toshio, what would you do? Would you choose your clan, or Konoha?_ Haruto questioned, as he eyes looked at the two people spar with vigour.

The shuriken they flung at each other clashed in the air, and flew off in some unexpected direction. Neither Itachi nor Shisui watched to see where they went; they were already leaping at each other, and closing the distance between themselves.

"Yah!"

"Hah!"

Their fighting cries blended together.

Their bodies collided in mid-air, tangled together, and crashed to the ground. Shisui got to his feet and into position first, launching a kick at Itachi, who was propped up on one knee. Itachi immediately thrust his right arm out to block it. His field of view shaking with the impact of the kick, he saw his friend quickly weaving signs.

" _Katon: Goukayuu no Jutsu_!" Shisui shouted, and an enormous ball of flames shot out of his mouth.

Itachi stared at the flames streaking toward him, a smile pulling up his lips at the corners. Just like Shisui…Itachi was thrilled. He gloated to himself that even among the people of their clan, only his father and Shisui could release a fireball this massive.

"No way!" Shisui cried out at the unexpected result.

The giant ball of flames ripped Itachi into countless pieces, which transformed into a myriad of crows that attacked all at once.

 _Kawarimi no Jutsu_.

The real Itachi was running around behind Shisui. Before Shisui could sense his chakra and whirl around, the smaller boy had a kunai at his throat.

"So you win, huh," Shisui said, regretfully.

In the end, they sparred thirty-five times. The result was eleven wins for Itachi, and twenty-four for Shisui.

"You're beyond genin level already." Shisui took a swig of water from his canteen. "Your chunin exam being put off again this year?"

"Yeah," Itachi replied, before tilting his own canteen back to pour cool water into his mouth.

"You said your supervisor jonin was Minazuki Yuki or something, right?"

Itachi nodded silently.

"Is he maybe jealous of you? Maybe he doesn't like geniuses, so he's putting off recommending you for the chunin exams?"

"There's nothing I can do, even if that is what's going on with him."

There was no point in thinking about Yuki's thought process in not recommending Itachi. He wouldn't get to take the chunin exam again this year. That was a fact.

"But I mean, you're already so—"

"Let's just forget about it." If they talked about it anymore, all that would happen would be that his regret would just grow stronger.

"That reminds me, what happened to that girl Uchiha Izumi?" Shisui awkwardly changed the topic, and Itachi turned wide eyes on him. "It's usually hard to figure out what you're thinking, but I guess this at least, is pretty easy."

"What do you mean?"

"Go take a look in a mirror," Shisui said, a playful smile spreading across his face.

Itachi averted his eyes. "I don't have an opinion on her either way."

"And yet, the minute I said the name 'Izumi,' you looked like you had a pretty strong opinion."

Strong opinion ...

Did he? There was no doubt that Izumi was one of the few friends he had. But he also felt like that's all she was. But then, when pressed by Shisui like this, he felt like maybe she was different. Still, that said, whatever his feelings for her were, they didn't seem romantic.

In short, he didn't really know either.

"Anyway, how's your father?"

"Don't change the subject," Shisui said with a grin, before his bright expression clouded over the slightest bit. "Same as always." His father had lost a leg in the last Great War, and fallen ill because of that injury; he was currently bedridden. Shisui lived alone with his mother and father, and was the family breadwinner. "He's gotten a lot weaker lately. He's even stopped recognizing me."

"Really..."

"Well, everybody dies someday. I'm ready for it."

Faced with Shisui's sad resolve, Itachi looked like he didn't know how to respond. Haruto didn't know how he should feel either, by the fact that Toshio's father was going to die soon.

 _What should I do?_ Haruto glanced up at the sky, hoping it had an answer for him.

Haruto had noticed that Itachi wanted to enter the exams, but was it really okay for him to kill Itachi, simply because it was the order of Danzo? If Haruto didn't kill Itachi, then Danzo would assume him to be disloyal and have him killed. If that happened, he wouldn't be able to continue gathering evidence on Danzo, and then, Shunsuke, Kaito, Yuuto, along with all the others, would be forever be stuck in Root. It was true that if Itachi, who the Uchiha viewed as their pride, were to die, then many Uchiha would lose the will to protest and rebel against Konoha. Nevertheless, Itachi was a fellow comrade of Konoha, not to mention, part of the same family as Toshio.

Haruto didn't want to kill Itachi.

He was sick of the blood that continued to stain his hands; blood of his own comrades; blood of people that Haruto was supposed to fight alongside with and protect.

* * *

 _Please give me your thoughts and comments!_


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